Café and shop in railway cars approved

Plans for a café and farm shop in two former railway carriages at a business park near Hereford have been given the go-ahead.

Financial services firm Allpay, based nearby, had proposed converting two 1970s carriages already in place at Whitestone Business Park off the A4103 Hereford-Worcester road.

A café in the northside carriage will host around 35 guests at a time, while the carriage on the east side will house a farm shop selling local produce.

There will be an outside seating area and parking for 11 cars, while raised beds and a small greenhouse are to provide produce for the café and shop.

Geared mainly to workers at the business park, the two are intended to open between 9am and 3pm seven days a week, creating two full-time and four part-time jobs.

With no objection to the proposal from official bodies, the local parish council or the public, planning officer Simon Rowles concluded it “would serve to boost the economic vitality of the rural area without compromising the business park or existing retail centres elsewhere”.

“It is understood that part of the business park was formerly land associated with Withington railway station,” he added.